1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to graphics display systems and more particularly to initializing of double buffers and frame buffers in a graphics display system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical graphics processing system, a graphics processor processes geometric and color information so as to render pixel information used to control the illumination of individual pixels on a graphics display screen. Graphics color information stored in a frame buffer is used to control the illumination of pixels on the screen. The color information in the frame buffer must be periodically updated. Ordinarily, updating is accomplished by initializing a double buffer and a depth buffer; then updating the double buffer and the depth buffer; and then copying updated information from the double buffer to the frame buffer. During updating of the double buffer and the depth buffer, depth information stored in the depth buffer is used to determine whether or not color information stored in the double buffer and corresponding to one image should be written over color information corresponding to another image.
One problem with earlier graphics systems concerns the amount of time required to initialize a double buffer and the depth buffer. Initialization involves writing respective starting color values and starting depth values to each pixel storage element of the respective depth and double buffers.
Thus, there has been a need for a method for more rapidly initializing a double buffer and a depth buffer. The present invention meets this need.